Commissioners OK zoning change for York Twp. project

An approximately $6.5 million facility to manufacture nutritional supplements for farm animals will be constructed in York Township after Fulton County Commissioners last week approved a zoning change.

The 3-0 vote secured the zoning transfer from agricultural to M3 – manfacturing – for the project. A 25,000-30,000 square foot facility will be built by Origo, a Minnesota-based company, on County Road H, adjacent to the Illinois-Ohio railroad tracks and behind Fulton County Processing.

The site was chosen for its access to the railroad, the county’s major highways, and the Ohio Turnpike. The company selected Fulton County for its central location to the industry in this region of the Midwest.

At a public hearing held July 25 on the zoning change residents voiced concerns over traffic noise and factory emissions. They were told the company uses a closed system that eliminates emissions, and that traffic would be limited to employee vehicles and several trucks regularly entering and exiting the property.

Origo has applied for the county’s Community Reinvestment Area Property Tax investment to receive a 50 percent cut in property taxes for 15 years as an incentive to build. It has also applied for federal grants to help finance the facility’s infrastructure.

The New Ulm, Minn., company processes animal fat and vegetable oils into granular nutritional supplements for dairy animals, poultry, and swine. The facility will employ 20 people and serve as a base for company CEO Michael Hibbert.

Site work for the project will begin in August or September. Construction may not start until next spring.